terpAMA Excels at International Collegiate Conference

The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business chapter of the American Marketing Association had a successful trip to the AMA International Collegiate Conference in New Orleans in April 2014. terpAMA was named one of the top 25 chapters for the third consecutive year, and the chapter’s Design Fellows program finished third in the conference’s case competition. In addition, Smith junior marketing major Victoria Hogan Edwards was recognized for being one of nine students nationwide to receive the Coca-Cola Global Marketing Internship this summer.

The case competition involved creating a new marketing plan for Hershey’s Take 5 candy bar. The candy bar was released in 2004, but hadn’t performed well, so Hershey’s had backed-off marketing it. However, Hershey’s learned that people usually liked Take 5 when they tried it, so the students were tasked with creating a campaign that would convince people to try it. The Smith team finished tied for third out of 86 AMA chapters that submitted a case.

Smith's Mary Harms, Tyser Teaching Fellow in the marketing department, started the Design Fellows program five years ago to help Smith marketing students think more creatively. She had heard feedback from Smith alumni who said they weren’t prepared for how creative professionals think and talk. Each year the program brings together 25 students from Smith and the design program from the university’s Department of Art. The students work together to produce professional marketing materials.

Each year more design students apply to the program because they understand the importance of knowing business terminology and want to learn how to defend their design solutions “based on how it will solve business challenges,” Harms said.

Meanwhile, Edwards received the new Coca-Cola internship, which was created by the national AMA in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania. She said she will work on global licensing within Coca-Cola’s global marketing program.

Each recipient of the internship was recognized at the conference. “Everyone in TerpAMA was screaming when my name was called,” Edwards said, adding that TerpAMA is the reason she became interested in marketing.

Find out more about the Design Fellows program on Smith’s Undergradate website. 

Peter Haldis, MBA Candidate 2014, Office of Marketing Communications